Big 12 coach rankings

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Mike Gundy (AP Photo)

It’s no longer just Bob and Mack. Or Mack and Bob.

The Big 12 has become the conference of elite coaches— and elite coaches in the making. As impressive as Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Texas’ Mack Brown have been over the years, guys like Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State and Art Briles at Baylor have quietly built strong, dangerous programs.

“You’re not dealing with guys in over their heads in this conference,” said one BCS coach. “(Coaches) in this conference are assassins. They’ll smile off the field, and cut you to pieces on it.”

Go ahead and focus on the second half meltdown against Texas A&M in a meaningless bowl game. I prefer to zero in on eight Big 12 championships in 14 years, an average of 10.6 wins a season and eight BCS bowls—all at a place with Alabama-sized expectations.

All those years dominating the Mountain West Conference, and his first year at the BCS level came with numerous key injuries and the suspension of his starting quarterback for drug use. Frogs were 4-0 with QB Casey Pachall; 3-6 without him. Don’t judge Patterson on one season of turmoil.

He still has it, and he keeps proving it. The Magician of Manhattan has done it twice now: rebuilding a program left for dead and winning the Big 12. Why should we doubt the Wildcats will keep winning? Last year’s 11- win season was K-State’s ninth double-digit win season under Snyder in 21 years, including the last two.

He’s 45 now, five years removed from the postgame outburst that temporarily defined him on the surface —and changed the foundation of his team. Get this: Before the rant, Gundy’s teams at Oklahoma State were 13-15; since then, they’re 54-20. Once he walked away from the offense and focused on the team, he flourished as a coach (you listening Lane Kiffin?).

The transformation at Baylor has been remarkable (three straight bowls for first time in school history), as has Briles’ ability to continue to churn out quality quarterbacks. It began with Robert Griffin III, continued with Nick Florence and Bryce Petty takes over this fall. No one has figured out how to stop Briles’ offense yet.

It’s hard to argue with the success Brown has had at Texas—and just as hard to ignore the last three underachieving seasons. At some point— soon—Brown and his staff must develop all of those elite recruiting classes into a championship team. Or at least one that can contend for a championship.

Weis replaced a coach who won two games in 2011, and promptly won once in 2012. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but you better believe he expected to win more than once. This is still the same guy who took Notre Dame to two BCS bowls—and the same guy who couldn’t get a break on the field when he needed it. Last year, KU lost five games by a combined 26 points, blowing fourth quarter leads in three of the games.

The numbers (24-27) in four seasons don’t tell the entire story. Rhoads has done wonders in the toughest job in the Big 12, taking the Cyclones to the postseason in three of his four seasons and building excitement in and outside the program. But even that can’t overshadow three straight losing seasons (5-7, 6-7, 6-7).

No one does offense like Holgorsen, his spread principles now filtering into the NFL. While the Big 12 is an offense-first league, Holgorsen’s success at WVU will be determined by his ability to hire the right defensive staff, and recruit and develop players on defense.

He’s young, he’s a fiery go-getter and he’s an alumnus. What more could Texas Tech ask for from its new coach? The fact that he has played and coached with guys like Mike Leach and Kevin Sumlin and Holgorsen can only be a positive thing.